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@Skiing - its dec 30th, and it's actually in the UFC, they signed overeem. Should be a good fight

Last UFC in UK was better than i expected. Although I didn't expect to see Leben 'give up' quite like he did, probably the last person you'd expect. Apparantly he had to cut 20lbs in 48 hours, which is why he's saying he had poorer cardio than usual. I have to say he did look bigger than usual, but did seem to gas very fast

Roll on this weekend, HUGE fight.

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Cool. I had no idea what the status of Lesnar's diverticulitis was. That will be interesting. I think it's great that we get to see Velasquez and Dos Santos fight on Fox for FREE. It's just a one hour event? Weird.

I for one would request that there be no spoilers outright in this thread...please. I'm not always that timely in watching the events.

You can do spoilers with the [ spoiler ] tag, which can also be found with the "Special BBCode" tool, 4th one on the toolbar:

Michael Bisping died a horrible slow torturous death at the hands of Mayhem Miller. It is definitely what he deserved...

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I'm a fan, but I only take in the fights which get replayed on cable. I love seeing the wrestling/judo takedowns when they do occur. Good ones are fairly rare, though, so when it happens it's like seeing a soccer (football) goal for me.

I think it's becoming less exciting all the time, though. Like boxing.

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I think it's becoming less exciting all the time, though. Like boxing.

I can see your point of view here, not sure if I agree 100% but it's because the sports evolving and people are starting to realise the most effective styles of fighting, which means you get a lot of fighters who are very similar.

But there are still always people who have their own style and make for exciting fights: Jon jones, clay guida, anderson silva, Fedor (I know he's not what he once was, but he definately has his own style and is still exciting) come to mind.

We need the Genki sudo's of MMA back!

Was sad to see BJ lose to Diaz. Diaz's attitude stinks, but gotta admit his cardio is absoloutly ridiculous. Was also rooting for mitrione big time at 137, I still think he's got a very good future in MMA, he's a great athlete.

As far as the UFC on fox, from what i've read there will be a full card, but only the JDS and Cain fight will be aired on fox. Seems a little odd to me, but you can watch the rest of the card on facebook. Particularly looking forward to seeing Guida vs Hendo aswell as the main event.

Mine, and many others', suggestion to your problem above is change the pay structure. For example a fighter now may get 20k to show, 20k to win. If that was changed to 5k to show, 35k to finish (not just win) or something similar then the point fighting that you mention may diminish.

Its a shame that the biggest point fighter in the sport is also the biggest name at the moment. Jones will very soon usurp that mantle though (if not already) and he just finishes every fight he has which is very good for the future of the sport.

Much can be said about point sparring vs. technique sparring vs. a real no-holds barred fight. Most competitive martial arts competitions are run by point sparring, so it is no surprise that UFC/MMA adopt a similar approach. The problem with point sparring is that you have people playing for points instead of a more primal desire to beat the guy. That's why you see a lot of ridiculous things like kicks to the head in brown belt and higher regional competitions (TKD, not UFC here) because you get 2 points for that vs. one point for a punch to the head or kick to the body.

You'll never see technique sparring in competition, but it is definitely a very useful training technique. The point is to use the techniques, one-steps, and combinations you've learned in a sparring situation. It would be more fun to watch and more technically challenging to perform, but then you've got the whole judging that gets stupid like gymnastics or "ice dancing".

No-holds barred fights would never be aired, insured, or even condoned if you can avoid them. They are too brutal, and sometimes the simplest solution to a hold is... well... very injurious to the other person. According to legend, the original TKD competitions were closer to this level in the sense that as long as you didn't kill the guy you weren't disqualified. Strikes to the groin were legal.

I think some of the sameness of the competitions are the fact that most everyone is training the same way. They've learned that you need the following skills:

striking

grappling

holds

countering

And now you have a lot of wrestling moves creep into the martial arts as they are pretty effective in a ring. I find those parts of the fight where two people are essentially grinding out of a hold to be rather tedious as a spectator. As a martial artist I want to like watching these fights, but I still have a hard time with them. It's just my opinion, mind you. But I'm also the type of person who enjoys doing more than watching. But, you'll never see me step into that ring voluntarily.

You're absolutely right about the wrestling aspect, it is indeed taking over MMA big time currently and there's no doubt that this is turning off a lot of fans. For example, GSP who I mentioned earlier. I used to be his biggest fan. But since he got KO'd by Serra he now focuses mainly on wrestling and its got to the point where I don't even look forward to his fights anymore. Yes, tactically its great for him and he remains champion but as a spectacle its a bore. And for a guy who, early on in his career, was just as exciting as Jon Jones this is a real shame. Although I'm sure he's not complaining after mentioning today that every fight is worth $4-5m dollars to him. And now with this Fox exposure, the money is just gonna get better & better. Good for those guys who train their asses off day in day out.

Now what's the take for the guy just starting out? I mean if I can't hope to support the habit, why do it? Of course since I'm nearing 40 years old, the thought of me doing UFC would be laughable as I go against younger guys who have been training for that sport longer and harder. But there is always that morbid curiosity.

I ran into someone who really liked watching Sumo wrestling, and he went on and on about how there are only 13 legal techniques, how one guy is better than another even though he's not as big, etc. A sport with that kind of pull can be really fun to watch. Of course, if you are just completely lost you might as well be watching golf.

So, if I wanted to get into at least watching a good fight, what's your recommendation? Who's got some good technical skills out there worth watching? Keep in mind I'm uninitiated to UFC, other than watching a couple random fights.

Wow, what a question. So many fighters to choose from. Well for a start you should really check out this Saturday's heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez & Junior Dos Santos. Its free on Fox if you are in the states which is also a monumentous event for the sport. It literally is the biggest day in the history of MMA so there will be lots of hoopla surrounding it. Both guys are 240lb monsters, JDS likes to stand and bang whilst Cain, the champ, also likes standup but is a top class wrestler as well so if he gets you to the mat that's where he'll try to break your face with good old ground and pound.

Recent fights to take a look at. Well, I'm not sure if you can google UFC fights and get them to show up on youtube etc (somebody help me out here) but if you can then you should look at Nick Diaz v BJ Penn from 2 weeks ago at UFC 137 whereby Diaz beat up one of the true legends of the sport like he's never been beat up before really. Diaz is the bad boy of the sport, a real character/psycho, and is next in line for a title shot against GSP which is just going to be a huge fight.

Another great display which springs to mind is a young(ish) guy from Liverpool, UK, called Terry Etim who fought last weekend at UFC 138 and dismantled his opponent very stylishly in about 17 seconds. You should watch that if you can...very exciting quick burst of action.

Going back to this coming Saturday's fights, the whole undercard is shown free on facebook and you should really also try to watch the last fight on that undercard, Guida v Henderson. I think Henderson is a very exciting fighter and that should be a great fight. Guida can be a bit of a lay and pray boring wrestler, but Henderson is usually never in a boring fight so try to catch that if you can.

I'd better stop now because I could literally go on alll day about this so if you can take a look at those few and see how you get on. I'm sure some of the other guys will chip in with a few other suggestions.

Actually, I have to mention Anderson Silva, the pound for pound best fighter in the world. Just take a look at a couple of his recent demolitions of guys such as Vitor Belfort or Forrest Griffin. To put it into persepective when you watch the way he dismantles those guys....they are former world champions (Griffin at a weightclass ABOVE Silva). Oh, and Jon Jones...the future of the sport. UFC champ at 23...absolute beast....take a look at him as well.

Sorry for the FRAT lol, but in my opinion it literally is the best sport in the world. No truer form of competition. Enjoy...

I can totally understand why the Diaz brothers get on your nerves, lets face it they can come across as real douchebags. However, what I like about them is that they are just being true to themselves. They are not phoney badass personalities for the camera or whatever....they literally are badasses. Nick is also a top class triathlete and trains his ass off every single day and that's where he gets his monstrous engine from. I like that he doesn't sugar coat anything and just speaks his mind whereas someone like GSP seems to just give generic, politically correct, nicey nicey answers to every question he's asked. With Diaz you just have no idea what crazy shit is gonna come out of his mouth next.

That, along with his fighting style where he is constantly looking to finish and just beat up people as opposed to just trying to win a decision actually makes him my favourite fighter at the moment. Unfortunately I think GSP will wrestle-fuck him to a decision victory but I want more than anything for Diaz to dethrone him. Imagine what a PR headache that will be for the UFC lol.

Actually, I would like to see Diaz win for a different reason. Everyone is excited for the super fight between GSP and Anderson Silva, but I would much rather see Jon Jones and Silva fight. That would be awesome. I think their styles would make an excellent fight. If Diaz beats GSP, maybe Jones vs. Silva would happen instead of GSP vs. Silva?

glad this thread picked up! Can't wait for this weekend, in case you don't know the Fox event will ONLY be the heavyweight title fight. The prelims and rest of the card will be shown on facebook or fox sports website. Besides the main event the henderson/guida fight should be amazing as well. As a mexican american myself I am of course rooting for Cain this weekend! So pumped for the fight.

Pretty good month to, the weekend after is Hendo/Shogun, winner will probably get next title shot at LHW after Machida.

also on the subject of Diaz, I am quite sure GSP will grind him out for a victory. I don't think diaz will be able to stop the takedown.

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www.mmalinker.com for all your MMA fight needs. Simply search some of the fights couture has mentioned, some sick fights to look up:

Micheal Bisping vs Dan Henderson

Fedor Emelianenko vs Mirko Cro cop

Wanderlei Silva vs Rampage Jackson (any of their fights)

Ben Henderson vs Clay Guida

Melvin Mahoef vs Cyborg Santos

Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin

Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Nogueira

Cro Cop vs Nogueira

Igor Vovchanchyn vs Mark Kerr (some good old school action for you there )

Anderson Silva vs Lee Murray

Nick Diaz vs Karo Parysian

Don Frye vs Ken Shamrock (This fight was the end of ken shamrock, neither fighter was the same after this fight)

Frank Shamrock vs Tito Ortiz (easily top 10 fights of all time)

Antonio Nogeuria vs Bob Sapp

Royce Gracie vs Kazushi Sakuraba

Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar (first fight, both are good though)

Clay Guida vs Takanori Gomi (just for the WTF factor)

Diego Sanchez vs Paulo Thiago

Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva

Chuck Liddell vs Randy Couture (any of the 3 fights.)

Genki Sudo vs Matt Brown

Genki Sudo vs Buttberbean (for the WTF factor again haha)

Anthony Pettis vs Ben Henderson

Randy Couture vs Pedro Rizzo (Either fight)

Randy Couture vs Kevin Randleman

Rich Franklin vs Wanderlei Silva

Evan Tanner (RIP) vs Phil baroni

Evan Tanner vs Ruthless Robbie Lawler

Brock Lesnar vs Heath Herring

Okay i got a bit carried away but i have a lot more good fights in my head haha

i'll list a few more later aswell when i have time but I just have to say this right now:

CIGANO!!!! Man i'm so glad junior won, after watching him on TUF he just seems like a really genuinly nice guy, and he clearly works hard. He's a great role model for the sport and I hope he stays the champion for a long time.

Do feel sorry for cain though, he's an awesome fighter and a good guy too. But junior, come on man such a cool guy!

It will be interesting to see if the HW belt stays. It's been passed around like a bong for a while now. We need another Fedor